The Bramble Hedge / Discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page The Bramble Hedge.

IronShears 20 Feb 2022 23:14

Ah it's finally finished! I've been silently working on this for so long. Honestly, this idea started even further back. I kept trying over and over again and finally got it finished now that I had a reason to. Third time really is the charm!

All the artwork was created by me and is licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

I used the paper texture by Brent Leimenstoll(which is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0) to add texture to the paper in the artwork. That can be found here.

The foil texture is just a photo I took of some imitation stuff I had lying around. Also licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Thank you to MsDirection and Snapdragon133 for crit on this! And to everyone in the discord chat who offered thoughts on the artwork.

I made this theme specifically for this article but decided near the end of it that other people might want to use it too. If you're one of them, here's a link to the component page :)

Snapdragon133 20 Feb 2022 23:33

I absolutely adore everything about this entry, the theme and images are beautiful and the story, while I could predict what was coming, was very satisfyingly written. Bravo!

LAN 2D 20 Feb 2022 23:53

I'm not a fan of zombie stories, but the choice to cross one with a fairytale setting makes the story have a unique feel that I really enjoyed. Not to mention the amount of effort that went into the visuals. Amazing, really.

NotAnOligarch 21 Feb 2022 01:53

I am suddenly very afraid of old women. +1

In all seriousness, this is very good. I think many people are mistaken when they think of the concept of a twist villain. A twist villain doesn't have to be a twist to the audience, it just has to be a twist to the characters. There are a few pieces of media that demonstrate this quite well.

Very well done!

---

Fires rage just below the surface of the ice.

MsDirection 21 Feb 2022 05:12

Great work! Happy to see the successful posting.

---

- MissDirection (She/Her)

Maxyfran73 07 Mar 2022 21:20

Aw, fuck, I couldn't stop smiling as I saw the bloody axe at the end of the page. What a beautiful example of how the content of a story is so much more than the story itself. The design and images are so beautiful, and really enhanced what is already a really good tale. As for the story itself, it has a really good twist. Really liked the ending here.

Easy upvote~

Rounderhouse 15 Mar 2022 23:21

Fuuuuuck. That's real, real good.

"Zombie fairy tale" was not on my bingo card for things I expected to read this contest, but boy am I happy to have been proven wrong. This works alarmingly well when by all logic it shouldn't. Bravo. The theme and artwork are also incredible, and add a ton to the atmosphere and vibe of the story. It's short, but not too short — enough that the art carries as much weight as the words. The dawning realization and horror in the last few paragraphs also works really well. I have no idea how you married the concepts in your mind, but the product is a super-enthralling story that's absolutely dripping with mood and tone.

Fortanono 28 Feb 2023 20:48

THESE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE SO GOOD. I mean, I didn't expect any different from one of your works, but I love it so much. The story is also great, and the twist at the end was just lovely. Easy +1, so far my favorite entry from this contest but I need to read more stuff from it so we'll see lol

zipzipskins 15 Nov 2023 15:14

This is unbelievably good. Even strictly assessing the writing, the style and tone are absolutely delicious to read. You set the bar high early with your word choice, phrasing, and pacing and you clear it and set a new one practically every paragraph. Normally I'm not much for zombie fiction at all (I'm a long-time novoter on zombies and zombie-adjacent things) but the way this is told, spooling out in this fairy-tale framing, every single line rich and intentional and worn smooth around the edges, kept me absolutely fascinated.

And then there's the art, which is perfect. I'm not an art critic but every illustration was flawless in service of the story and the mood. Even down to the theme- every element of the page comes together in a magical, sumptuous whole.

Thanks for creating this.